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Originally Posted by tophcfa
Whoever said patients with Medigap plans don’t have a PCP who helps them manage their health care? With a Medigap plan, if you need to see a specialist for a life altering condition, the PCP can refer to a top specialist in the USA, not whoever is practicing and accepting patients in your local network. If you happen to live in a rural area, there may not be an experienced specialist in your network, so you have to roll the dice with a generalist and hope for the best. Not optimal at all.
Also, with a part g Medigap plan, if that condition runs up a million dollars in medical expenses, all you pay is your approximately $250 annual deductible and never see another bill.
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How do you think a Physician becomes a "Specialist"? All Physicians are specialists in their area of practice that they spent many years of hands on training and even if they are in a shanty in East Bumfudge Egypt they're prepared to care for you. The variables here are people aka patients. Patients have no patience #1. Patients only think they are the one that matters because they only present in their time of need and expect immediate attention. Do you really believe that you're going to see a specialist while on vacation just because you want to? There are Patients that have never experienced pain, like the pain after hip or knee surgery. They transfer this pain onto the doctor because they may think another doctor could have done the surgery without postoperative pain. This false belief becomes a negative review of the doctor. They may never achieve full range of motion in their hip or knee because of the postoperative pain involved in physical therapy exercises and these exercises are the key to a successful joint replacement...... but this is not the doctor's fault yet the review will say it's the doctor's fault that the patient didn't complete PT. I could go on and on about people's distorted views of reality in the Healthcare system. Maybe you're saying that when you get cancer you're traveling to a big name hospital because you'll accept no less. Many affluent people do and it has sometimes worked out in the past. I will tell you that I'm coming from a recognized name in medicine and have seen that all hospitals bottom line is what's most important. The care environment in the hospital is dwindling since Covid, George Floyd and the nationwide HR push for diversity and inclusion. Recruitment and retention of quality patient care staff is more difficult as each day passes. Covid knocked out many quality caring Healthcare workers. If you remember, we HAD to work and it was a horrific time which led to many leaving the industry or seeking work outside hospitals. Don't be surprised now if your Nurse looks like Jellyroll with a nasty attitude. It pains me to say this because I poured my heart and soul into quality patient care because I loved the people we served and I loved my job and my coworkers. I can't say that to be so anymore and I'd be hesitant to jet off to a big name unless I needed a specialist and they were the only one, as Dr Ben Carson was. You're relationship with the doctor is paramount but hospital stays can taint your entire experience.
I'm ranting but there's a lot more to this than which insurance you pick. After my experiences and my knowledge base I don't have any problem with having a Villages UC Advantage Plan with HMO or PPO or AARP Advantage Plan. Not looking for the "freebies", but instead I feel confident that between what I know to be fact and a solid relationship with a PCP, I can get everything in Healthcare that I will need.
BrianL99....I've never had a PCP that worked for an insurance company. Physicians pick and choose which insurance companies they want to associate with after reading all the fine print. They choose to accept insurances that will let them operate with reasonable reimbursement while allowing their patients good benefits coverage. And then there's my Dermatologist that stopped taking Medicare patients because the reimbursement is so low and she wanted a bigger yacht and another rental property....true story